chamois

[ sham-ee; French sha-mwah ]

/ ˈʃæm i; French ʃaˈmwɑ /

SEE SYNONYMS FOR chamois ON THESAURUS.COM

noun, plural cham·ois, cham·oix [sham-eez; French sha-mwah] /ˈʃæm iz; French ʃaˈmwɑ/.

an agile, goatlike antelope, Rupicapra rupicapra, of high mountains of Europe: now rare in some areas.

a soft, pliable leather from any of various skins dressed with oil, especially fish oil, originally prepared from the skin of the chamois.

a piece of this leather.

a cotton cloth finished to simulate this leather.

a medium to grayish yellow color.

verb (used with object), cham·oised [sham-eed] /ˈʃæm id/, cham·ois·ing [sham-ee-ing] /ˈʃæm i ɪŋ/.

to dress (a pelt) with oil in order to produce a chamois.

to rub or buff with a chamois.

QUIZZES

Fend Off Sciolism With This Word Of The Day Quiz

Are you the Cinderella of this week’s quiz? Test your memory on the words and definitions from March 23–29.

Question 1 of 7

schlep

to say or do hesitantly or awkwardly

to fold or wind around something

to carry; lug

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Also chammy, shammy, shamoy (for defs 2–4, 6, 7).

Origin of chamois

1525–35; < Middle French < Late Latin camox, presumably of pre-Latin orig.; cf. gems

Words nearby chamois

chamfer bit, chamfron, chaminade, chamiso, chammy, chamois, chamomile, chamonix, chamorro, chamos, chamosite

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020

Example sentences from the Web for chamois

The Mail, helpfully, reports that Pippa has stocked up with special “chamois cream” for the purpose of protecting her butt.
Pippa Eating At McDonalds in Missouri RIGHT NOW!|Tom Sykes|June 18, 2014|DAILY BEAST
In a corresponding cupboard, with the door wide open, there hung in loose folds a shirt (as I took it to be) of chamois leather.
The Law and the Lady|Wilkie Collins
Some smokers think that covering a meerschaum bowl with chamois will cause it to color well.
Tobacco Leaves|W. A. Brennan
The chamois has a very penetrating sight, and his hearing and smell are not less discriminating.
Buffon's Natural History. Volume VIII (of 10)|Georges Louis Leclerc de Buffon

The peculiarity of Chamois Hyde was that he could not bear making other people—college dons, for instance—ridiculous.
Punch, Or the London Charivari Volume 107, November 24, 1894|Various
This is how it is done: Thread a No. 11 needle with sewing silk the colour of the chamois.
The Child's Rainy Day Book|Mary White

British Dictionary definitions for chamois

chamois

/ (ˈʃæmɪ, French ʃamwa) /

noun plural -ois

(ˈʃæmwɑː) a sure-footed goat antelope, Rupicapra rupicapra, inhabiting mountains of Europe and SW Asia, having vertical horns with backward-pointing tips

a soft suede leather formerly made from the hide of this animal, now obtained from the skins of sheep and goats

Also called: chamois leather, shammy, shammy leather, chammy, chammy leather (ˈʃæmɪ) a piece of such leather or similar material used for polishing, etc

(ˈʃæmwɑː)

a yellow to greyish-yellow colour
(as modifier)a chamois stamp

verb (tr)

to dress (leather or skin) like chamois

to polish with a chamois

Word Origin for chamois

C16: from Old French, from Late Latin camox of uncertain origin

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

chamois

noun, plural cham·ois, cham·oix [sham-eez; French sha-mwah] /ˈʃæm iz; French ʃaˈmwɑ/.

verb (used with object), cham·oised [sham-eed] /ˈʃæm id/, cham·ois·ing [sham-ee-ing] /ˈʃæm i ɪŋ/.

QUIZZES

Origin of chamois

Words nearby chamois

Words related to chamois

Example sentences from the Web for chamois

British Dictionary definitions for chamois

noun plural -ois

verb (tr)

Word Origin for chamois